Chapter 620 Double Jewel
Dusuoyuan, the camp of the Kansai Army.
In one tent, famous generals from Guanxi gathered. They were Pang Yan, Yang Fu, Pang Yu, Zhang Gong, Zhou Lie and Fu Xun. These people all belong to the young group of the Xiyuan Army. The oldest is Pang Yan, who is only twenty-six years old, and the youngest is Fu Xun, who is only weak.
These people were all Yulin's children selected by Liu Hong from the wealthy families of Yongliang in the past, and they were specially used to train military officials as the second echelon.
But with the death of Liu Hong, the Xiyuan Army was torn apart due to the political struggle between the eunuchs and the Kansai family. The elites bred by these countries in the past were now just dogs under Dong Zhuo's family.
In today's Dong Zhuojun system, they are in a rather embarrassing position. In terms of nostalgia, they and Dong Zhuo are from the same hometown at heart, and they are all descendants of Yongliang. But politically, these people belong to the aristocratic family faction. In previous political struggles, Dong Zhuo focused on this group of people.
That is to say, the current little emperor Liu Xie has been protecting these people for the sake of balance, so their troops can still be maintained until now.
Therefore, whether it is political demands or representation, they are all members of what is now called the imperial party.
These people are not satisfied with the decision made by Hu Zhen just now, because it is the worst choice no matter how you look at it.
Or you can lead the army north and make a gesture of trying your best to save Taiyuan. Not only can it give great confidence to the Taiyuan defenders, but it can also defeat the Taishan army without a fight.
After all, if there is a real fight to the death, the Han army will have a strong city to support it internally and elite troops to respond externally. On the contrary, the Taishan army will be attacked from both inside and outside.
Of course, these people also saw that the warriors under Dong Zhuo were unwilling to take chestnuts from the fire. That's okay. Then you, Hu Zhen, can take your brothers and retreat all the way to Linfen, using the Fen River as a defensive line, and defend instead of attack. That's okay too.
But now we are fighting but not fighting, leaving but not leaving, we are really risking our own lives.
Thinking of this, the eldest Pang Yan sighed:
"The late emperor simply decamped us and spent money and food to organize our Xiyuan Army. Now he can't share the worries of the country. It's really shameful. Now, the thieves are in the north, but our army is patrolling. These friendly troops are in trouble and are as motionless as a mountain. How can I stand up to the late Emperor and His Majesty?"
Zhang Gong, who came from Dunhuang, gave an explanation. The Zhang family was alone in Dunhuang, and they always supported whoever was in the central government, so they excused Hu Zhen:
"Hu Shuai also has his own difficulties. Everyone in the army has a lot of arrogance. This one wants to go north and that one wants to go south. It is also difficult for Hu Shuai."
Fu Xunshi was the youngest, but had the strongest temper. He scolded him unceremoniously:
"He has a bad reason. If he listens to the people below, what do you want him to do as a commander? Let me tell you, let's mobilize our troops and horses to save Taiyuan. Brothers, don't worry, Zhang Liao and I have an old relationship. Our army is heading north. The Bingzhou army will also go north. By then, half of the army will attack, and Hu Zhen will have no choice but to go up. Otherwise, if he stays here as he said, we will all be killed by him. "
Zhou Lie and Zhang Gong were both from Dunhuang and were considered a party. When they met Fu Xun, he did not give Zhang Gong face and sneered:
"Fu Xun said such words, it shows that your Fu family has no heirs. Do you think you have to fight hard? This is called taking what you want, but giving it to you. You always take one step back and two steps forward when doing things. One more step. This is in line with the practical methods of war. What do you think? You know, we are only half of the elite troops in Kansai, so the country will collapse. Our military leader should preserve his strength, find the enemy's weaknesses in the confrontation, and then seek victory. This is a prudent military strategy. ”
Fu Xun didn't give Zhou Lie any face and sarcastically said:
"Hmph, it's good to take one step back and two steps forward. We are just worried, don't take one step forward, two steps back, and finally step back. You have a clever mouth, but what? You can defeat Taishan with your mouth Army?”
After saying this, Fu Xun was still angry, kicked Mazar away with his foot, and cursed:
"How can I, Fu, be a mere idiot who can say anything? When my ancestor Fu Jiezi was making his country famous in the Western Regions, your Zhou family was just a fur trader in Dunhuang. Why do you think you are a big figure after donating a little grain? How dare you say that? My Fu family, if you dare to say one more thing, I will cut off your tongue."
Zhou Lie's face turned pale. He was obviously very angry with this kid. He was about to speak, but was stopped by Zhang Gong beside him.
Seeing himself and others, Pang Yan suddenly realized:
"Now I finally understand that it is true that Hu Shuai did not go north. With the discord between our armies, if we rush to Taiyuan, we are going to die."
As soon as these words came out, everyone present was embarrassed, and then they were speechless.
It seems that this kindness from the late emperor will really be repaid in the future.
……
General Xiyuan of Yongzhou was quarreling, and General Xiyuan of Yizhou was also muttering, obviously having his own ideas.
On the contrary, Li Jue and others, who were kindhearted in Liangzhou, felt that this was the case, and then went back to their respective camps to drink.
Therefore, in the huge military tent, only Hu Zhen felt heavy and confused about the upcoming war. He hesitated in the tent for a long time, sighing in his heart that it would be great if Jia Xu could be here.
He thought about it for a while, and finally had no idea, so he was ready to go to bed. In the past few days, he had been tired from riding his horse and worried about military strategy, so he had little sleep.
Now that I can't figure out why, I might as well go to sleep.
But just when his head was about to fall on the bed, there was a sound of rapid horse racing outside the camp, and then a sound of footsteps spread all the way to the outside of the Chinese army's tent.
After a while, there was a sound outside the tent:
"Commander, hurry up the military situation!"
Hu Zhen quickly put on his clothes and stood up, then received the envoy.
The person who came was sent by Wang Chang from the rear, and he came to deliver an urgent copy.
Hu Zhen was puzzled, wondering what urgent matter Wang Chang had, so he frowned and read the urgent letter. But unexpectedly, the further he read the book, the more his brows went up. After finally reading the book, he was even more overjoyed and sighed:
"I have Wang Zichang, worry-free!"
What's going on? It turned out that this was a military strategy written by Wang Chang.
Before Hu Zhen and the others received Ding Yuan's letter asking for help, Wang Chang got news of Taiyuan's siege from his intelligence network.
The reason why he was able to get the news faster than Hu Zhen was because Wang Chang got it from private business travelers. Ever since Wang Chang guarded Linyi, he knew that he would definitely face the end of the army pressing down on the territory in the future.
And he also knew that the source of this threat must be Bingzhou in the north. It's not that he predicted that Taishan's army would move south from Daidi. But considering the location of Linyi, the only threat is the soldiers coming from the direction of Taiyuan.
Therefore, since Linyi was established, he relied on the developed hub role of this place to plant espionage among business travelers. Especially the section from Taiyuan to Linyi is the top priority of the investigation.
It was precisely by relying on true and timely intelligence that Wang Chang was more aware of the critical situation than Hu Zhen.
To this end, he wrote this military letter.
The content of the military report is Wang Chang's countermeasures to the current situation. The whole text focuses on one point, which is to completely abandon Bingzhou and rely on the Fen River to build a defense line based on important places and passes.
Among them, Wang Chang specifically proposed the two walls he built.
One is a jade, and the other is called a cypress.
Among them, the Jade Bi is located on Emei Slope, twelve miles southwest of Linfen, at the ferry on the south bank of the Fen River. This wall was originally built by Wang Chang to prevent the Baibo bandits from going south to Hedong and threatening Anyi Salt Pond. Because of its danger, Wang Chang valued it.
The other one is called Baibi.
This village has not yet been completed. It was built as planned by Wang Chang. It is planned to be located twenty miles southeast of Linfen and at the ferry on the south bank of the Fen River.
Wang Chang had obviously worked hard during his time in Linyi, and the location selection of these two walls was very particular. After the Taishan Army broke through Yanmen Pass, Wang Chang realized that there must be a battle in Linyi. There are two important routes to break through from Taiyuan south into Guanzhong.
The jade bi and the cypress guard the two roads in the west and east respectively.
In theory, Wang Chang certainly repaired both walls, but after all, he was only the captain of Linfen, not the governor of Hedong, and the resources he could mobilize were limited. So he decided to repair the jade first.
Wang Chang judged that if the Taishan Army really went south to Linfen, it would be more likely to take the west road to Longmen. Because the east road is a bit dangerous.
The so-called east road of Linyi actually goes directly south from Linyi, then passes through Wenxi Pass, crosses the Emei Platform, reaches the upper reaches of Suishui River, and enters the hinterland east of the river.
The conditions along this road are quite complicated. The hilly land where Wenxi Pass is located is rugged and narrow. The army can only pass through in a long snake formation, which greatly increases the risk of being ambushed.
Even if the army and horses are able to do so, the supply of food and fodder behind them will be easily ambushed by the local powerful in Wenxi.
And who is the local powerful family in Wenxi? It's Pei. The Pei family is now on official duty in Guanxi. If the Taishan Army goes here, they will definitely be ambushed by their clan.
There is another reason, which is that although you can enter the pass by taking this Wenxi Road, it takes more distance and is not as close as taking Longmen on the west road.
In fact, Wenxi Road is more convenient for going to Kyoto.
After all this, Wang Chang judged that the west road would be the direction for the Taishan Army to send troops, so he mobilized soldiers and Lifu to build the jade first.
It is a pity that Wang Chang is still at the middle and lower levels. Although he has a good understanding of the situation in Bingzhou and Hedong, he cannot see the military trends of the Taishan Army from the overall situation.
In fact, the Taishan Army's target this time was Luo Jing, which was beyond Wang Chang's ability to detect.
But no matter what, Wang Chang's decision to build a jade jade at the south ferry of Fenshui River was quite lofty.
Because the Longmen Road it contains directly guarantees the safety of Guanzhong.
This road was also the passage through which the reinforcements came.
The advantages of taking this road are also obvious, that is, it is easy to travel, can overcome obstacles on the Emei Platform, and is convenient to travel. In addition, supplies are smooth and there is Fen River along the way, so the army can travel with the fleet and advance by land and water.
Therefore, after Wang Chang finished building the jade wall, he stationed three hundred soldiers there to block the road.
But now, as news from Taiyuan came one after another, Wang Chang realized that Hu Zhen's army was in great danger.
That is, the Jiexiu area where the army stayed is already in the Taiyuan Basin. From Taiyuan to there, there is a flat river. The Taishan Army can use a large-scale cavalry to launch a surprise attack on the Kansai Army at any time.
When Hu Zhen's army passed Linfen this time, Wang Chang paid special attention to the number of horses in the army, which was roughly around six or seven thousand. Although it was a large cavalry army, it was still a little behind the Taishan army.
Therefore, Wang Chang warned Hu Zhen in his letter, saying that he should immediately go south to Fenshui before the army has penetrated far.
Wang Chang also specifically mentioned that if necessary, even Linfen could be abandoned, and the entire army would retreat to the south of the Fen River. At that time, with the jade on the side, the Fen River in front, and the army behind, the Taishan Army will never be able to advance even half a step.
In the letter, this is how Wang Chang introduced Yubi Village to Hu Zhen.
The jade wall is facing the Fen River in front, which can be used as a natural trench. It is backed by the Emei Mountains and the terrain is high. It is surrounded by deep valleys and huge ravines on all sides. Even if the enemy has an army of 100,000, they can never break the jade jade.
What if the Taishan Army chooses to spare the jade and not fight? That's okay, because the jade can directly threaten the Taishan Army's food routes.
Of course, the Taishan Army could give up the jade and march along the north bank of the Fen River to Longmen. But the problem is that when your army passes through, the Han army in Yubi Stronghold dare not leave easily. But after your army leaves, what about the civilian food road behind it?
Therefore, this forced the Taishan Army to capture the jade.
And when the time comes, the jade biscuit will become a flesh and blood grinder, mincing the last trace of flesh and blood of the Taishan Army.
So when Hu Zhen, who was trapped and frustrated, saw Wang Chang's military report, think about how happy he was. It can be said that if it is as Wang Chang said, then there will be a way out for him.
And when he returns to Linfen and repairs the cypress wall on the east side, Linfen will be able to completely block the Taishan Army's ambition to conquer the east of the river.
In this way, Hu Zhen felt comfortable.
As soon as he felt comfortable, Hu Zhen became hungry. He said to the guards outside:
"Is there any venison? I'm hungry. Let's eat some venison."
The guard responded, then ran to the camp, and soon came back in embarrassment.
It turned out that the army was busy setting up camp today and no hunting was arranged, so there was no venison.
Hu Zhen is happy and has no trouble. But the less he could eat, the more greedy Hu Zhen became.
So with a wave of his hand, he summoned his two hundred horsemen to follow him out of the camp. They were going to hunt deer!
In this way, two hundred riders protected Hu Zhen and rode to a forest wall, preparing for a feast of barbecue.
But soon, Hu Zhen's good mood was ruined.
To the north of him, there should be a settlement area, where flames were blazing into the sky and black smoke was curling up. He could hear the ferocious laughter and wails here.
Hu Zhen was startled at first, thinking that the Taishan Army had already arrived nearby. But if you look at the performance of the tooth soldiers around you, you know that's not the case. So, he asked his general Hu Guang in a low voice:
"You know this?"
Hu Guang was very embarrassed, but finally persuaded:
"Commander, he belongs to Fan Chou and his men."
Hu Zhen understood immediately and felt a little disappointed, but it was hard to say anything. After all, that's what the Xizhou soldiers are like, plundering before the battle and plundering after the war. This is an old tradition.
So Hu Zhen just felt a little disappointed, and he didn't think there was any problem with anything else.
But just when he was about to go back, the sound of violent horse hooves suddenly sounded from the north. At this moment, Hu Zhen realized something. He suddenly ran back to the camp with his horse. Behind him, the two hundred tooth cavalry did not dare to say a word, protecting him. Hu Zhen ran away.
Because the Taishan Army is coming.
(End of chapter)